SPECTRE
SPECTRE (an acronym of Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games. Led by evil genius and supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organisation first formally appeared in the novel Thunderball (1961) and in the movie Dr. No (1962). SPECTRE is not aligned to any nation or political ideology, enabling the later Bond books and Bond films to be regarded as apolitical. SPECTRE began in the novels as a small group of criminals but became a vast international organisation with its own SPECTRE Island training facility in the films. Ideology In Ian Fleming's novels, SPECTRE is a commercial enterprise led by Blofeld. Their top-level members are 21 individuals, 18 of whom handle day-to-day affairs and are drawn in groups of three from six of the world's greatest criminal organisations—the Gestapo, SMERSH, Marshal Josip Broz Tito's secret police, the Mafia, the Unione Corse, and a massive heroin-smuggling operation based in Turkey. Their debut is in Thunderball. At the time of writing the novel (1959) Fleming believed that the Cold War might end during the two years it would take to produce the film, which would leave it looking dated; he therefore thought it better to create a politically neutral enemy for Bond. The organisation is next mentioned in The Spy Who Loved Me, when Bond describes investigating their activities in Toronto before the story begins. The organisation's third appearance is in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where Blofeld, hired by an unnamed country or party (though the Soviet Union is implied) is executing a plan to ruin British agriculture. Blofeld, with a weakened SPECTRE would appear for the final time in You Only Live Twice. In the films, the organisation has a more active role, often as a third party in the ongoing Cold War. The goal of world domination was only ever stated in You Only Live Twice, and SPECTRE was working not for itself but for an unnamed Asian government whose two representatives Blofeld speaks to during the movie; perhaps Red China, who earlier backed Goldfinger. SPECTRE's goals in the other films it has appeared in have always been less lofty. Its long-term strategy, however, is illustrated by the analogy of the three Siamese fighting fish Blofeld keeps in an aquarium in the film version of From Russia with Love. Blofeld notes that one fish is refraining from fighting two others until their fight is concluded. Then, that cunning fish attacks the weakened victor and kills it easily. Thus SPECTRE's main strategy is to instigate conflict between two powerful enemies, namely the superpowers, hoping that they will exhaust themselves and be vulnerable when it seizes power. SPECTRE thus works with both sides of the Cold War. For example, in Goldfinger it works with both China, to destabilise the Western world's economy, and the French Foreign Ministry, to kill a defector to the USSR. In both the film and the novel Thunderball, the physical headquarters of the organisation are laid in Paris, operating behind the terrorist front organisation aiding refugees (Firco in the novels; International Brotherhood for the Assistance of Stateless Persons in the films). Organizational discipline is notoriously draconian with the penalty for disobedience or failure being death. As quoted by Blofeld on several occasions: "This organisation does not tolerate failure". Furthermore, to heighten the impact of the executions, Blofeld often chooses to focus attention on an innocent member, making it appear his death is imminent, only to suddenly strike down the actual target when that person is off guard. Fleming's SPECTRE has elements inspired by mafia syndicates and organised crime rings that were actively hunted by law enforcement in the 1950s. The strict codes of loyalty and silence, and the hard retributions that followed violations, were hallmarks of U.S. gangster rings, Mafia, the Unione Corse, the Chinese Tongs/Triads and the Japanese Yakuza/Black Dragon Society. Leadership & Hierarchy SPECTRE is headed by the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld who usually appears accompanied by a white Persian cat in the movies, but not in the books. In both the films and the novels, Emilio Largo is the second in command. It is stated in the novel that if something were to happen to Blofeld, Largo would assume command. Largo appears for the first and only time in Thunderball and also in the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again. The members of the head board of SPECTRE go by numbers (e.g.: Number 1) as codenames. In the novels, the numbers of members were initially assigned at random and then rotated by two digits every month to prevent detection. For example, if one was Number 1 this month, he would be Number 3 next month. At the time of Thunderball, the leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, has been assigned "Number 2", while Emilio Largo is assigned "Number 1". In the films the number indicates rank: Blofeld is always referred to as "Number 1" and Emilio Largo, in Thunderball, is "Number 2". The SPECTRE cabinet had a total of 21 members. Blofeld was the chairman and leader because he founded the organisation, and Largo was elected by the cabinet to be second in command. A physicist named Kotze and an electronics expert named Maslov were also included in the group for their expertise on scientific and technical matters. This particular example of numbering is perhaps deliberately borrowed from revolutionary organisations, wherein members exist in cells, and are numerically defined to prevent identification and cross-betrayal of aims. By deliberately drawing attention away from the true leader of the organisation, he is protected by masquerading as a target of lower importance, and the structure of the organisation is also obscured from intelligence services. EON Films This list shows all SPECTRE board members mentioned in the official film series: Novels This list shows all SPECTRE board members mentioned in the Ian Fleming novel Thunderball: Appearances Novels In the original Bond novel series, SPECTRE's first and last appearance as a worldwide power is in the novel Thunderball, published in 1961. In the novel, SPECTRE, headed by Blofeld, attempts to conduct nuclear blackmail against NATO. Apparently disbanded afterwards, SPECTRE is said to be active again in the next book, The Spy Who Loved Me, although the organisation is not involved in the plot. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the second chapter of what is known as the "Blofeld Trilogy", Blofeld has revived SPECTRE, and Blofeld's final appearance, sans SPECTRE, is in the final novel of the trilogy, You Only Live Twice. Later, the John Gardner Bond novel, For Special Services introduces a revived SPECTRE led by Blofeld's daughter, Nena Bismaquer. Although Bond ultimately prevents SPECTRE from reforming, it continued, under the leadership of Tamil Rahani, to play a part in Role of Honour and Nobody Lives For Ever. The next Bond novelist, Raymond Benson, reintroduces Irma Bunt, Blofeld's assistant, in his short story "Blast From the Past", which is a sequel to You Only Live Twice. Films In the EON Productions James Bond series, which began in 1962 with Dr. No, SPECTRE plays a more prominent role. The organisation is first mentioned in Dr. No as the organisation for which Dr. Julius No works. This was changed from Fleming's novels, which had Dr. No working for the USSR. In the films, SPECTRE usually replaced SMERSH as the main villains, although there is a brief reference to SMERSH in the second EON Bond film, From Russia with Love. The film adaptation of From Russia with Love also features the first on-screen appearance of Blofeld, although he is only identified by name in the closing credits of the film. After being absent from Goldfinger, SPECTRE returns in Thunderball and subsequently is featured in the following films You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever. Following Diamonds Are Forever, SPECTRE and Blofeld were retired from the EON Films series, except for a cameo by Blofeld (not identified by name, but accompanied by the character's trademark cat) in For Your Eyes Only. Despite speculation that SPECTRE would return for the Daniel Craig era of Bond films, 007 has instead tackled an underground terrorist organisation similar to SPECTRE, known as Quantum. They first appeared unnamed in 2006's Casino Royale and reappeared in 2008's Quantum of Solace. It is interesting to note that in the Bulgarian subtitles of Quantum of Solace, the name Quantum was translated as SPECTRE, with the title changed to "Spectre of Solace" ("Спектър на утехата"). Non-EON In 1983, MGM released Never Say Never Again, based on the same original source material as Thunderball. Not considered part of the official Bond series, the film retells the story of Thunderball and reintroduces both SPECTRE and Blofeld. Video games SPECTRE is shown, but never mentioned by name, in the game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. Instead, it is referred to as a "powerful criminal organisation". It is depicted as being much more powerful than it was in any of the films or books, possessing a massive undersea black market known as The Octopus, resembling Karl Stromberg's lair from The Spy Who Loved Me, a large lair built into an extinct volcano akin to the films which is used as the main base of operations, and also the personal structures of its members such as Auric Goldfinger's Auric Enterprises and casino and Dr. No's Crab Key, also returning from the films. SPECTRE also seems to possess extremely advanced technology, such as virtual reality and strange energy generators in its volcano lair. Dr. No and Auric Goldfinger appear as SPECTRE members, with Dr. No "...(Doctor Julius No) having broken ranks with our organisation. He must be eliminated". After Dr. No is killed, Goldfinger takes over the Volcano Lair using the OMEN Mass Energy Neutralizer which causes Disintegration of Organic Matter. Goldfinger is eventually killed by the Omen when it explodes, releasing the energy and killing everyone (except the player, who is safe from the OMEN in a cut off area. The irony being that the area was a trap set by Goldfinger, where the air would drain out and the player would die.) Although the From Russia with Love video game mirrors much of the plot of the eponymous film, it uses an organisation called OCTOPUS rather than SPECTRE to avoid copyright issues. As a side note, the game features a recurring symbol which could be thought of as SPECTRE's logo: a simple, marine-blue octopus with semicircular eyes and blade-like tentacles. This logo is at least seen printed on the walls of The Octopus black market and on Goblin grenades. Copyright issues :Main article: ''''The controversy over ''Thunderball '' SPECTRE and its characters have been at the center of a long-standing litigation case starting in 1961 between Kevin McClory and Ian Fleming over the film rights to Thunderball and the ownership of the organization and its characters. In 1963 Ian Fleming settled out of court with McClory, which awarded McClory with the film rights to Thunderball, although the literary rights would stay with Fleming and thus allow continuation author John Gardner to use SPECTRE in a number of his novels. In 1963 the producers of EON Productions, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman made an agreement with McClory to adapt the novel into the fourth official James Bond film. The agreement also stipulated that McClory would not be allowed to make further adaptations of Thunderball for at least ten years since the release. Although SPECTRE and Blofeld are used in a number of films before and after Thunderball, the issue over the copyright of Thunderball, did prevent SPECTRE and Blofeld from becoming the main villains in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. In 1983, McClory released the unofficial remake of 1965's Thunderball, entitled Never Say Never Again. Although to this day, McClory retains the film rights to Thunderball, the courts in 2001 awarded MGM with the exclusive film rights to the fictional character James Bond. This technically prevents McClory from creating further adaptations of the novel. SPECTRE members Henchmen working for SPECTRE or directly for Ernst Stavro Blofeld in (order of appearance): Films Doctor No.png|Doctor Julius No|link=Doctor Julius No Klebb.png|Col. Rosa Klebb|link=Rosa Klebb Red Grant Profile.png|Donald "Red" Grant|link=Red Grant Kronsteen.png|Kronsteen|link=Kronsteen Morzeny.png|Morzeny|link=Morzeny Emilio Largo - Profile.jpg|Emilio Largo|link=Emilio Largo Fiona Volpe - Profile.jpg|Fiona Volpe|link=Fiona Volpe Jacques Bouvard.png|Col. Jacques Bouvar|link=Jacques Bouvar Count Lippe - Profile.jpg|Count Lippe|link=Lippe Palazzi profile.png|Angelo Palazzi|link=Angelo Palazzi Vargas - Profile.jpg|Vargas|link=Vargas Janni - Profile.jpg|Janni|link=Janni Kutze.png|Prof. Ladislav Kutze|link=Ladislav Kutze Quist.png|Quist|link=Quist Helga Brandt - Profile.jpg|Helga Brandt|link=Helga Brandt Hans Bodyguard Profile.gif|Hans|link=Hans Mr Osato - Profile.jpg|Mr. Osato|link=Osato Irma Bunt Profile.png|Irma Bunt|link=Irma Bunt Grunther - Profile.png|Grunther|link=Grunther Braun Profile.png|Braun (OHMSS)|link=Braun (OHMSS) Bertsaxby.jpg|Bert Saxby|link=Bert Saxby Wint and Kidd Profile.png|Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd|link=Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd Novels All henchmen listed below are from the novel Thunderball Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Emilio Largo|link=Emilio Largo Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Giuseppe Petacchi|link=Giuseppe Petacchi Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Pierre Borraud|link=Pierre Borraud Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Marius Domingue|link=Marius Domingue Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Dr. Kandinsky|link=Kandinsky Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Kotze|link=Kotze Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Number 6 Generic Placeholder - Profile.jpg|Count Lippe|link=Lippe Unofficial All henchmen listed below are from the 1983 film Never Say Never Again MaxLargo.png|Maximillian Largo (No.1)|link=Maximillian Largo Fatima Blush Profile.png|Fatima Blush (No.12)|link=Fatima Blush SPECTRE equipment (films) Parodies and clones SPECTRE is often cloned or parodied in films, video games, and novels. *The most obvious is the Austin Powers series of movies. In this series, a man named Dr. Evil (a parody of Ernst Stavro Blofeld) is the leader of a villainous organization simply called "Dr. Evil's Evil organization." Dr. Evil's second in command, known only as "Number Two", is a parody of Emilio Largo, Blofeld's second in command. *In the video game series No One Lives Forever a man simply called "The director" leads a similar organization called "H.A.R.M.". A running joke during the series is that no one actually knows what H.A.R.M. stands for. *In the video game 'Evil Genius', one has to make a criminal organization exactly like SPECTRE The character Maximillian is a spoof of Blofeld. *The James Bond spinoff animated series, James Bond Jr, featured a clone of SPECTRE called "SCUM". * The animated series Inspector Gadget featured a clone of SPECTRE called "MAD.". Dr. Claw, the head of MAD. is also based on the villain Blofeld. * The TV series Get Smart featured a SPECTRE-like organization called KAOS. * In the mid 80s, a highly successful James Bond tabletop RPG was released. With the films as inspirations, the stories were adapted for players. Minor changes to plots and villains were made. For example, Kidd & Wint were freelance assassins working for SPECTRE They in fact leased out services to other terrorist organizations and various crime syndicates. The most noted change was SPECTRE. It was later renamed TAROT and the face cards represented various departments. This was due to the copyright issues referenced above. Victory Games (the game's publisher) worked with Eon productions (the film producers) for the rights to Bond, and were told they were not allowed to negotiate with McClory for the rights to SPECTRE, hence the hasty renaming. * In the animated TV series, Darkwing Duck, one of the major antagonists is an evil criminal syndicate with the acronym "F.O.W.L.", punning on all the characters in the universe being birds, the word 'foul' and the suggestive acronym based names for such organizations. * The Bond films that Daniel Craig star in have an criminal organization called QUANTUM, the supposed protege to SPECTRE * In the sci-fi game Mass Effect, the protagonist joins the 'Spec'ial 'T'actics and 'Re'connaissance branch of the Citadel Counsil. Operatives of the organisation are extremely well-trained fighters from various races and professions, and they are above the law, allowing them to use any means the individual agent deems nessecary in order to maintain galactic stability. These agents are generally referred to as Spectres. * In the video games and TV series Pokémon, an evil organization called Team Rocket often appears and wants to become rich and powerful, enough for dominate the world, like the SPECTRE Their boss is Giovanni, who has a Persian, a cat Pokémon, like Blofeld and his cat. * In Totally Spies Terence Lewis (the main villain of the show) founded the similar organization named L.A.M.O.S. with same goals and emblem. See also * List of James Bond villains * SMERSH External links * Blofeld from The Bond Film Informant *spectreorganisation.com -- Information on Kevin McClory's fight for the rights to Thunderball and SPECTRE. Category:Organizations Category:Criminal organization